Take it easy Raps fans, Ujiri knows what he's doing

Masai Ujiri selected Brazilian Bruno Caboclo 20th overall on Thursday night when it became evident that the Raptors wouldn’t be able to get him with their next pick, the No. 37 selection. (Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun)

In this age of YouTube highlight reels, college sports channels and March Madness over-saturation, it is easy to see why now, more than ever, many fans think they know more than NBA front offices.

Here is the thing: While executives make some truly head-scratching decisions from time to time, even the worst get a few things right, and the rest and especially the best, spend countless hours scouring the world for the brightest young hoops talent.

The outrage to Toronto’s stunning selection of Brazilian Bruno Caboclo 20th overall at the NBA Draft on Thursday was predictable — and hilarious. Caboclo may or may not pan out, and he certainly will take time to make an impact, according to those who know him and have seen him play.

But former NBA executive of the year Masai Ujiri, widely regarded as one of the finest basketball minds on the planet, the guy that pulled off a couple of heists for the Raptors in his first year and did some fine work in Denver before that, probably knows what he is doing, no?

And before this corner is accused of sucking up to Toronto’s front office, ask Bryan Colangelo how they feel about things we have written, or Richard Peddie or Tim Leiweke. We call it like we see it, and this whole thing is much ado about nothing.

History shows that the odds of getting a star at 20 or beyond is extremely low. Even adding a marginal starter is not a regular occurrence. Most picks well outside of the lottery yield pieces of the puzzle, but seldom major, impact ones.

Ujiri saw Caboclo, the youngest player in the draft, with a massive wingspan, live three times, he said. His staff saw the big man as well. They were enthralled. After all, 6-foot-9 big men, with natural shooting skills and impressive defensive chops are in short supply. Ujiri has a rich scouting background. He knows talent when he sees it.

With the top targets off the board, why not swing for the fences if you have the intel to back up the gambit? Two of the most reliable NBA sources around let us know that the Raptors had been sniffing around Caboclo for ages and had even made him a promise to be taken at No. 37 as far back as December. When we heard some variation of “Toronto was up to something and would do something intriguing” we thought it just involved angling for Brampton’s Tyler Ennis. It was actually more than that. The team was ready to pull the curtain and let the basketball world in on the secret it had been expertly keeping under wraps for months.

When it became known that Utah and Phoenix were poised to pounce on Caboclo well before Toronto could at 37, Ujiri pounced, willing to deal with the consequences.

Toronto had encouraged the Brazilian not to come to North America to do workouts, knowing he would likely rocket up the charts based on his athleticism and shooting abilities.

This is no Rafael Araujo or Andrea Bargnani situation. The kid has talent and he has heart. While that might not be enough, in the end, it just might be and Toronto, unlike some of the NBA’s golden franchises, needs to take chances like this every once in a while in order to meet the eventual goal of becoming a contender.

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Take it easy Raps fans, Ujiri knows what he's doing

In this age of YouTube highlight reels, college sports channels and March Madness over-saturation, it is easy to see why now, more than ever, many fans think they know more than NBA front offices.

Here is the thing: While executives make some truly head-scratching decisions from time to time, even the worst get a few things right, and the rest and especially the best, spend countless hours scouring the world for the brightest young hoops talent.

The outrage to Toronto’s stunning selection of Brazilian Bruno Caboclo 20th overall at the NBA Draft on Thursday was predictable — and hilarious. Caboclo may or may not pan out, and he certainly will take time to make an impact, according to those who know him and have seen him play.